Today’s market is quickly turning into a seller’s market, like it or not. Inventories are down, prices are escalating, thank goodness not to the level of the boom/bust years. When finding the right property, it’s important to go in with all guns blaring. Many come into our market on 30A from somewhere afar thinking we’re still suffering from our bust days and have an eye on low balling, a steal, a deal, and want to offer 80% or so of the asking price. I do my best to educate each client about the market definitely working with them to get the best deal at a reasonable investor/second home owner price, but at the same time, leveling their expectations such that they don’t make a low ball offer with a pie in the sky dream of getting a deal done. It just doesn’t work that way anymore, and the buyer who may have really wanted the property may be left empty handed with a not so happy seller on the other side who may in fact decide not to accept anymore offers from that particular buyer. Yes, sellers have feelings too. If you want to seal the deal on a property you really want, try the following: 1. Get pre-approved by your lender. It doesn’t mean you have secured the loan, but it means the lender has reviewed your credit score and income and determined you can afford the payments. 2. Don’t low ball. Your realtor should do his homework and let you know pricing for similar properties to come up with a reasonable offer. 3. Do an escalation clause. This is when you as the buyer offer to increase your price if the seller gets a real higher offer from another buyer. 4. Double down on the earnest money. This shows you as the buyer aren’t monkeying around putting offers on multiple properties and just holding each up until you decide. Look serious, be serious. 5. Minimal contingencies. Clearly you want to protect yourself with certain contingencies such as financing, appraisal etc.. But hey, if you’ve done your homework, or your realtor has on your behalf, you should be in the ballpark of the right offer/pricing and an appraisal can come in anywhere, high or low. You may want to offer splitting any differences in appraised value if it comes in low or pay the difference if you have financing to deal with. 6. Write a letter. Sounds wish wash, but it works sometimes. People think of their homes as a family member sometimes and want to make sure you are going to take care of it. I’m out to Grayton Bar & Grill in Grayton Beach tonight for some great food and beverage, maybe music! Living the dream on 30A!
Posted on: Thu, 13 Jun 2013 22:19:33 +0000
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